A note saying Miss You for Caring for Aging Parents from a Distance page

Caring for Aging Parents from a Distance

Caring for Aging Parents from a Distance Social distancing has made those of us caring for aging parents face challenges we could never have ever imagined nor predicted. The isolation and shut-in is hard on nearly everyone, but it’s been particularly difficult for our aging population who are frequently already socially isolated, dependent and medically frail. Caring for aging parents pre-pandemic was already complicated and emotional. No matter how rewarding caregiving can be, how much we love them and are grateful to still have them in our lives, it’s stressful…

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Does Positive Thinking Really Help? Learn How to Use Perspective to Find Gratitude

Does Positive Thinking Really Help? Yes! Learn How Perspective Can Lead to Gratitude and Positive Thinking You know you should feel grateful, but you feel bummed, disappointed and even angry that your day is not going as you planned, or your car needs a new transmission. If we look for them, we can find so many reasons that our day, our life, even our world, is disappointing. It takes more effort to look for the upside, but it’s so well worth it. Are you breathing… If you know me, you…

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Caring for Kids and Parents – Learning to Protect Your Own Energy

Caring for Kids and Parents… Learning to Protect Your Own Energy in the Midlife Vise It’s called midlife – the middle years – when we are considered to be middle-aged. Not very accurate when we consider life expectancy, but it’s still the term used to bunch those of us over forty and beyond together. I think defining midlife as being the period of time that we are caught in the middle is far more accurate. There we are, smack dab in the middle between the busy-busy first few decades of…

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Finding Purpose Can Help Fight Feeling Down

Finding Purpose Can Help Fight Feeling Down

Everyone has times when they’re feeling down – that’s normal. But to feel down more often than not over a prolonged period of time is not ok.  So how can we pull ourselves up and out of those blues? Purpose, true and authentic purpose, is one way that can help fight feeling down. I’m not suggesting it fixes clinical depression. I’m not a psychologist and I wouldn’t dare suggest how depression should be treated. I’m talking about the sadness we feel on those rainy foggy days (like today if you’re…

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scared of things that are out of my control

Trying So Hard Not to Be Scared

I had a meltdown yesterday. It was the release of a day’s worth of trying not to give in to anxiety and fears that had built up subconsciously. The tipping point came when I accidentally pinched my finger in the hinge of the closet doors. It closed so hard on my skin that it caused an instant blood blister. I saw stars in that first intense moment of pain as tears rolled down my cheeks. I sat down on the nearby toilet seat lid holding my finger tightly. At first…

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Someone you love is hurting

When Someone You Love is Hurting, You Hurt

When someone you love is hurting – your child, partner, friend – you feel the pain too. And you’ll stop at nothing to either make it go away or somehow figure out how to fix it. There is no greater urge than to protect our kids and loved ones. It takes root from love, but it grows far beyond and is an amazing thing. What’s also remarkable is how you forget about everything else when you’re on a mission to fix their hurt. I’m exhausted and coming down with something. Maybe…

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